Dear Progress
Since the publication of your last edition we have seen the second reading in the House of Commons of the Sex Discrimination (Election of Candidates) Bill, which covers local government. Women are the users of, and workers in, most local services, but for many women in the community those involved in local decision making are not representative of them or their needs.
We have a responsibility in the Labour Party to encourage more women to become active in local government and to stand for elected positions. One way of doing this is to ensure that the electorate can relate to their local representatives. The Bill before Parliament will provide a perfect opportunity to take positive action. The aim for the Labour Party is to embrace this chance. Rachel Cashman, Finchley and Golders Green CLP
Dear Progress
I am writing to support the article by Peter Mandelson in the latest edition of Progress. Regional devolution is a project that has to be embarked upon immediately. Both in principle and in practice the benefits of well-structured regional devolution will allow all communities throughout the UK to share in a future of prosperity and to strive towards their fullest potential. Rory Palmer, Bassetlaw CLP
Dear Progress
Three events this year – the riots in Bradford and elsewhere, the harassment of school children on their way to the Holy Cross School, and the terrorist attacks on the US and their aftermath – suggest to me that the last thing that faith-based schools can provide is diversity, and that the last thing our already fractured communities need is more religious schools. At the risk of gross simplification what is needed is greater integration between people of different cultures, so that we can live together, understand and respect our differences, and learn from each other. By bundling children in schools according to their religion we are missing perhaps the best opportunity to ensure that racial and ethnic intolerance does not creep into future generations. Rachel Reeves, North Southwark and Bermondsey CLP